Africa is probably one of the continents with the greatest variety in geographical and climatic conditions and still dog breeds managed to adapt in every region of Africa. Geologically, Africa includes the Arabian Peninsula; the frontier being marked by the Zagros Mountains of Iran and the Anatolian Plateau of Turkey, where the African Plate collided with Eurasia.

Aidi: a North-African dog, also known as Chien d'Atlas, was originally used as a flock guard and protection dog to defense nomads and their belongings. His strong scenting ability also make him a reliable hunting companion. His thick, dense coat is adapted to the most rigorous weather conditions, and also protects him against jackals and other predators. See Aidi.

Egyptian Armant:native to Egypt were they were originally used as guard dogs, due to their fearless courage when facing predators and their extreme loyalty to their owners.

The first dogs introduced to the African continent were probably of the pariah-type, which came originally from Asia. Primitive dogs such as the Khoi dog (Hottentot dog) share common characteristics with the Asian pariah dogs that are not usually seen in the other dog breeds. See: Primitive dogs, Pariah dogs.

With the immigrants came the need for more specialized types of dogs, capable of carrying out specific tasks: hunting, guarding the property, etc. These African breeds usually stem from European dogs brought by the immigrants which were interbred with local dogs to make them more suitable to the local living and working conditions.

The group of African dog breeds includes not only dog breeds from the African mainland, but also dog breeds that originated in the Spanish Canary Islands which are usually considered as part of Northern Africa due to their relative proximity to Morocco. Because of their common ancestry and morphological types, some authors also consider the Mediterranean Sighthounds as belonging to this group. (see further)